The Social and Economic Importance of Full Employment

Wray, L. Randall

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1394467

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…A closer look into market economic systems shows a paradox at the heart of economic development. While purely market-based labor markets promote economic progress and innovation, they also encourage income inequality, job insecurity, and exploitation ( Wray, 2009 ; Galanis et al, 2017 ; He, 2022 ). Because of this dichotomy, economic policy must be complex.…”

Section: Discussion – Complex Path To Sdg 8: Unraveling Challenges An...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the concepts of decent work through the lens of SDG 8: addressing challenges and inadequacies

Chigbu,

Nekhwevha

2023

Front. Sociol.

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Promoting decent work and sustainable economic growth within the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8) entails addressing gender inequality, the consequences of market economies, and the role of the informal sector while also considering environmental sustainability. Research on SDG 8 remains limited, often adopting an appraisal perspective, and the concept of decent work within this goal remains relatively unexplored. Additionally, the focus on the challenges and inadequacies of achieving sustainable economic growth through decent work in the context of SDG 8 is insufficient, resulting in significant knowledge gaps. To contribute to filling these gaps, this paper adopts a descriptive and critical review perspective, systematically analyzing 108 journal papers and reports to investigate the concept of decent work within SDG 8. The research addresses the challenges and inadequacies related to decent work embedded in SDG 8. The review reveals that while progress has been made in tackling gender inequality in the labor market, gender bias, income discrepancies, and underrepresentation of women in senior positions persist, hindering inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all – SDG 8. Moreover, SDG 8’s focus on inclusive and sustainable development falls short of effectively addressing market economies’ structural disparities, insecure working conditions, and exploitative labor practices. Additionally, support for informal sector workers, who lack essential rights such as legal protection and social security, remains insufficient. Ecological destruction is sometimes an unintended consequence of purely market-based labor markets with an emphasis on economic growth, with SDG 8 lacking sufficient integration of environmental sustainability in its framework. The novelty of this study comes from its in-depth, critical, and policy-focused analysis of the ideas around decent employment in the context of SDG 8. The findings underscore the importance of providing fair, safe, and secure employment opportunities to support economic growth and development while upholding workers’ rights. In conclusion, we emphasize the crucial role of promoting decent work and sustainable growth in achieving SDG 8’s overall objectives, as it directly impacts other SDGs.

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Section: Discussion – Complex Path To Sdg 8: Unraveling Challenges An...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the concepts of decent work through the lens of SDG 8: addressing challenges and inadequacies

Chigbu,

Nekhwevha

2023

Front. Sociol.

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“…In recent literature, the target areas are quite wide. The most frequently declared goal of ELR is full employment, together with GDP growth, reduction of income inequality and poverty (Wray, 2009).…”

Section: Goals Of Elrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Employer of Last Resort for the Czech Republic

Červenka¹

2021

Prague Economic Papers

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This article simulates a programme called Employer of Last Resort, and analyses its potential impact in the Czech Republic.The design of the programme guarantees perfectly inelastic demand for labour at a given wage level. In practice, the state would offer a job to anyone willing to work in order to eliminate involuntary unemployment, reduce poverty and income inequality and secure stable growth. My aim is to estimate hypothetical effects on the main objectives and calculate fiscal demands if the programme was launched on the Czech labour market.The results suggest that the programme could significantly reduce unemployment and decrease income inequality. On the other hand, it would have limited impact on income poverty.The gross wage costs of implementing the Employer of Last Resort programme in the Czech Republic are in all constructed scenarios below 1% of the gross domestic product and further calculations suggest that the total net costs could even be negative.

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“…Well-designed strategies and good economic policies can produce 'miracles'. I argue here that a sovereign (national) government, with its own central bank, faces no budget constraints and that it can pay for any expenditurewhether it is related to building a new hospital, a school, or a highway, or to the hiring of teachers, nurses, engineers, or street sweeperssimply by creating new money (Bougrine 2010;Wray 2010). Whenever there is need for improving the public infrastructure or for a new 'stimulus package', the government simply orders its 14.…”

Section: Ideology As Theory: the Rise Of New Dictatorshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fiscal austerity, the Great Recession and the rise of new dictatorships

Bougrine¹

2012

Review of Keynesian Economics

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Austerity measures have been tested in developing countries for several decades under the pseudo name of 'structural adjustment programmes' following the recommendations and under the supervision of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Evidence indicates that the economic and social consequences of these policies have been so disastrous that there is now more poverty and more inequality than a generation ago. The same scenario is being proposed as the alternative to what has hitherto been labeled a social-democratic economic system in industrialized nations. The economically dominant minority has largely succeeded in imposing its neoliberal agenda by convincing the general public, through various means, of the need for austerity. The paper challenges the erroneous theories on which austerity is based and proposes an alternative explanation to what is the 'best practice' in public finance. It argues that deficit spending by the government is an important policy tool that can be successfully used to guarantee full employment and create wealth and prosperity for the whole society.

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The Social and Economic Importance of Full Employment

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

Exploring the concepts of decent work through the lens of SDG 8: addressing challenges and inadequacies

Exploring the concepts of decent work through the lens of SDG 8: addressing challenges and inadequacies

Employer of Last Resort for the Czech Republic

Fiscal austerity, the Great Recession and the rise of new dictatorships

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